A growing number of creative individuals today have access to computers, hardware and software that allows them to create, record and arrange music. Traditional digital audio workstations (DAWs), such as GarageBand, Sequel, Fruity Loops, etc., are constantly expanding to include new features, but these DAWs employ outdated and cumbersome user interfaces, which often include static timelines, tracks-and-lanes, and limiting studio hardware paradigms (e.g., mixers, tape machines, effects units, etc.). The use of such linear interfaces represents a significant hurdle to non-technical musicians of any level, including professional musicians, and discourages many of them from participating in computer-based music creation. Even those who eventually master the skills required to benefit from such linear interfaces are required to constantly switch between the creative right-brain activities and the logical left-brain activities, in order to adhere to the static linear timeline requirement. Such switching disrupts the creative flow.
Embodiments disclosed below describe systems and methods for a non-linear computer-based music creation, mimicking and complementing the cognitive process of musicians when they compose and arrange music.